Pages

12.30.2013

When we went up to Tagaytay Highlands for our anniversary, I was happy to try out the famous Highlander Steakhouse. The restaurant was just across The Spa & Lodge, so it was convenient for us to have dinner there while our little Kali was sleeping. You may wonder why I always mention our baby when we take time out. It's because life of a breastfeeding mom is different. I need to always be near my baby to feed her every 2-3 hours, especially when we direct feed most of the time.

My DH and I were so excited for our dinner that we personally dropped by the restaurant that afternoon to make our reservations. The staff were still relaxed as they were getting ready for their dinner guests.

I love their Christmas decors amidst the rustic theme of the restaurant.

I took a picture of their wine bottle on the table.

We were lucky enough to be able to check out the view from the balcony.

It was still afternoon so the fog wasn't up yet.

While we were there, we read the menu to plan out our orders. Excited much?!

View of the steakhouse on a December night.

Now time for the big reveal -- our food! I ordered the Seafood Mixed Grill (P1,050). From the menu, it says: "A combination of salmon, halibut, scallop, baby lobster and king prawns. Served with lemon butter sauce or seafood gravy." The dish was delicious! It didn't have the baby lobster though. I know I should have ordered steak since we were in a steakhouse after all, but DH and I decided to order different dishes so we could try from each.

DH ordered the highly recommended John Wayne's Prime Rib in 10z (P1,380). It was superb! The steak was really good. Though I ordered seafood, it made me wish I ordered steak too. We shared the 10oz size and both of us were so full after dinner. If you're ordering for one, the 7oz size would be enough.

We were happy to have chosen The Highlander Steakhouse for our anniversary dinner. We had a wonderful time with the in-laws too. We all went home to the lodge with happy tummies.

We went up to Tagaytay to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary with the in-laws. We share the same anniversary date with my parents and my in-laws (--cool huh? Feeling meant-to-be naman kami ni DH).We stayed at The Spa & Lodge at Tagaytay Highlands.

The cool weather in Tagaytay was a welcome change from the hot, humid temperature in Manila. The pine trees around gave a Christmas-y feeling too.

The Spa & Lodge at Tagaytay Highlands houses 25 suites, spa treatment rooms, a salon and a health bar. If you're looking for a chill weekend in Tagaytay, this is definitely the place to be.

Look at how comfy the bed is! It's so tempting to just lie in bed and watch TV/read a book/take a long nap. I like the country, wooden-style theme they have in their suites. Every room comes with its own personal wifi too (--great to have if you can't afford to miss all your social media updates! lol).

The bathroom comes with a glass window. It has a shower and jacuzzi-style bathtub.

Cozy nook by the window. You can easily read a book or take a nap in this area. My husband took this pic while I was breastfeeding. :) See the baby things on the table? Ang dami! Kali occupied more than half of our car trunk space on the way up to Tagaytay. The smallest person has the biggest luggage.

Dahil anniversary namin, let me post this couple pic. This was taken in front of the lodge where you can see the clubhouse down below. We were able to sneak some time out for ourselves, while our little baby took her nap with yaya watching over.

The Spa & Lodge has no restaurant, but you can order dishes via their room service menu or eat at their Great Room Lobby Lounge. You can also order from the other restaurants in Tagaytay Highlands. Take note of their delivery cutoff though.

To stay here at The Spa & Lodge, you need to have a separate membership open exclusively to the members of the Clubs at Tagaytay Highlands.

12.29.2013

I always look forward to Sundays, as this is when we attend our church service at Alabang New Life Christian Center. Ever since we lost our daughter Elyssa, we just found ourselves in this church searching for comfort during our time of mourning. Our Christian journey began, and we never looked back.

In today's service, Pastor Allan Critchett gave a preaching titled "With All Your Heart". He spoke that in everything, we must always give more of ourselves as God always gives more than what we expect from Him.

My DH and I reflected on this, and we realized that each and every day we should dedicate our lives to being more than what we are. In our marriage, we should continue to be passionate about each other just as how we were during courtship. Oftentimes, it is human nature to be insatiable. We set our eyes on something and once we have it, we lose interest and move on to the next big thing. In marriage, it is important to keep the love burning as it is easy to take each other for granted as the years pass by. As husband and wife grow and learn more about each other, the little things that are not so ideal come to light. We reveal more and more of our real selves to each other, and this includes the annoying traits. Once these traits come into the picture, it becomes harder and harder for us to keep the same level of passion as before.

This applies to other things too. Remember the day you landed your new job? You excitedly announce to your family that your application was successful and you are proud to join your dream company. Over the years, as work comes piling up and terrible bosses nag you every day, passion for your job wanes. You start dreading work. You may begin to search for another dream company, not realizing that it's not the company that needs to change but it's you and your attitude.

In many things in life, we need to learn to ALWAYS GIVE MORE of ourselves in everything that we do. When we thought that we are giving enough to our marriage -- enough love, enough patience -- there is always room to stretch it a little bit more. As parents, we think that we have given enough love and support to our children. We can always challenge ourselves to do more. In doing more, I believe that we can only do this by leaning on Jesus. As humans, we are susceptible to temptations and weariness. Only God's eternal strength can help us keep moving on.

We ask God for many things, and in all times He exceeds our expectations. We should keep in mind that to honor Him, we should always do our best to give more of ourselves each and every time, in everything that we do.

Acts 17:24-28

24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.

A few weeks ago, my DH and I went up to Tagaytay with my in-laws to celebrate our 3rd year anniversary. It was complete R&R for both of us, so we didn't have a chance to go around Tagaytay as much as we would have liked.

Recently, I read about a recent development in Tagaytay by SM Land called the Sky Ranch from Letsgosago. I found out that this is a good place for family fun. SM has envisioned this to be a leisure park with lots of activities in store for kids and adults. They have horseback riding, a mini-amusement park and their main attraction called the Sky Eye. The Sky Eye is currently the country's tallest ferris wheel, which stands at 207 ft. For those who loves scenic views from above like me, you will definitely enjoy this one.

The next time we visit Tagaytay with all our kids, we will definitely visit the Sky Ranch.

12.26.2013

I remember when we were planning our wedding 3 years ago, we had to scout for good suppliers with our limited budget. Given such, we visited various wedding fairs to get good deals. If you're a bride-to-be, it would be great to see at least 1 wedding fair during your planning stage.In a wedding fair, all the different kinds of suppliers you need are gathered in one place. There are times when you have set your mind on a certain supplier but their schedule might not be available for your wedding (--good suppliers are fully booked waaayy in advance!). Visiting a wedding fair can open your mind to up-and-coming suppliers that can make your wedding dreams come true.This January, greet the year with The 15th Ultimate Wedding & Debut Fair. This is definitely a must-go wedding event of the year as suppliers offer their best deals and discounts in one place with prices slashed to as much as 50% off!Here are some of the discounts available:

Jack and Jenn Catering offers FREE 30 Guest Catering for Pamanhikan or Despedida, when you book at least 100-guest Wedding Reception Catering

Ever wished you can be your own graphic artist? Design your own personalized Christmas cards this year with Canva! Tina from Truly Rich Mom sent us mommy bloggers a link to Canva, an online design platform. You can easily create your own designs for cards, documents, Facebook covers, presentations, blog graphics and more! I went over to their site and I was very pleased with their interface. It is super easy! Just search for images, click, drag and drop. Put everything together and voila! You have a great looking graphic instantly! Here's a sample of a Christmas card for our family. There are so many designs to choose from. I had fun browsing through all of them!

This December, Canva will be donating $50 to a charity supporting Typhoon Yolanda for this post. They are also giving away $10 credit for my readers here. What are you waiting for? Hop on over to Canva!

MEDIA RELEASE

Put those postage stamps away: these Christmas cards deliver in style

Sydney, Australia — 2/12/13 —Each year Filipinos spend hours waiting in checkout lines, licking dozens of icky stamps and worrying that snail mail won’t get their holiday messages to friends and family in time. And all in the name of the humble Christmas card.

Perhaps that’s why less cards are being sent now than ever before. And sheeeesh, the decline isn’t slowing down: the number of greeting cards posted has dropped 24 percent in the past decade. But no surprises there — it’s often the last thing on our mind with countless family gatherings, presents to organise and the mad holiday shopping rush.

So what if you could say a heartfelt ‘Happy Holidays’ to the people you care about with a personal design that’s just as sentimental as a handwritten note, but super quick and simple to create? Forget the text message; hold that Facebook post. Heck, why not make this Christmas a bit morespecial…

Simple online design platform Canva has a cracker of a Christmas surprise this silly season. The folks at Canva believe they can anyone into a designer with their free drag-and-drop design tool. The company has today launched a collection of entirely customisable, beautifully designed Christmas cards. Want to know how to create a spectacular looking card with Canva? Here’s the 1, 2, 3…

Choose one of the 20 stunning hand-crafted designs

Customise the card however you like; add family photos, write a personal message, change the graphics, or create your own from scratch

Pick who you want to send it to, and… badda bing -- you’re done!

Canva has been in exclusive closed beta for the past two-and-a-half months, but are now giving you the chance to join the more than 110,000 people who for the first time have been able to create their own designs without spending thousands of dollars on frustrating desktop software that takes years to learn. Hey, don’t take our word, here’s what others have said:

“Canva enables anyone to become a designer” — PSFK

“A graphic design platform anyone can use” — TechCrunch

“Canva could very well become an industry disrupting household name” — Web Appstorm

“The easiest to use design program in the world” — Netted by the Webbys

According to Canva CEO Melanie Perkins the company wants to make it easy for people to create and share their own designs with people they care about, and receiving personalised Christmas cards is something everyone appreciates.

“Together with the world’s best photographers, designers, and illustrators, we’ve set out to introduce beautiful design to everyone," she said.

"This Christmas we want to give more people the ability to craft something special for family and friends. Designing

with Canva is as simple as choosing a layout, searching our library of 1 million images and graphics, or uploading your own, then clicking ‘Publish’.”

When we joined Solane's Next Big Food Entrepreneur Contest, we just wanted to try it out to gain exposure for our brand. We said to ourselves, "Malay natin baka ma-feature tayo sa Entrepreneur." I saw the contest mechanics last July while reading Entrepreneur Philippines magazine and I pointed it out to my husband. He said we can give it a try and I immediately worked on our submission for the contest.

We decided to feature one of our best-selling dishes, the chicken popcorn. This dish was originally meant to be a side dish for our customers because we wanted to have an on-the-go, affordable snack offering. To our surprise, our customers loved the product and it turned out to be a bestseller!

The contest mechanics required that the participants offer only one dish, and we decided to offer this with a variety of dips and glazes. We named our entry Marky's Chicken Poppers. We developed a lot of dips and glazes at first, and offered everything on the food tasting round. From there, we narrowed it down based on the choices of the people who attended the event.

This is our one and only pic from the first round, the food tasting event. Ang dami ng participants! We had over 60+ participants with different food concepts. Napuno ang Mercato tent. Notice that I was still pregnant here (Hey little Kali! You were still in mommy's tummy!)
Honestly, after the first round, we didn't think that we would make it through the next round because there were so many players. We just prayed and left it all to God. Imagine one day, I woke up to the news that we were in the Top 20! Shown below is the post from Entrepreneur Philippines. I also read the announcement from a GMA article here. Late pa nga ako sa balita since we weren't expecting anything. God really does wonders when He has plans for you.

The second round was the selling phase. We were given free rent in the Mercato Group's markets namely Cucina Andare, Mezza Norte and Mercato. It was a challenge for us to set this up since I just gave birth back then and we lacked manpower. The rainy weather during that time was a challenge too. Still, we tried to join as much as we can.

Here's a photo of our staff after setting up in Mezza Norte. Puro DIY lang ang mga designs ng tarps. Startup na startup! I hope we can afford a better graphic artist in the future.

A picture with one of our first customers. It was good that we were able to get customer feedback from these events. Feedback from our customers is valuable to us since it helps us improve our products and service.

Another DIY merch creation. Di pa ako marunong mag-Photoshop so improvise na lang with Microsoft Powerpoint! We trimmed down the number of glazes and dips available down to our top three of each.

Fast forward to the last round, we presented to the judges our business plan for Marky's. With God's help, they were impressed and we won the Best Business Plan award! I believe God is really leading us to nurture this business. Though we are still facing start-up challenges, these reminders from God helps us push through.

This is us being awarded by the Entrepreneur team, partners and sponsors at the Entrepreneur Philippines Networking Night. We got prizes and gift packs from the sponsors that night.

First time to get interviewed on camera for ANC.

Pose with our award

Here's a picture of all the winners with the judges, sponsors, speakers and host.

Thank You so much Lord for all the blessings! Thank You for making our dreams come true. I pray tuloy tuloy na ito! We love You Lord!

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3 NIV

12.21.2013

Last week, we were invited to attend the Entrepreneur Philippines' Networking Night for December 2013. This was also the venue for our awarding as Best Business Plan winner of the Solane Next Big Food Entrepreneur Challenge. It was my first time to attend such an event, and I'm absolutely happy that I was able to participate in one.

Entrepreneur Philippines magazine December 2013 cover in huge tarp size near the stage.

The event kicks off with a presentation on the latest product from Emperador Brandy. The marketing manager indulged the audience with commercials for their new product Emperador Deluxe.

The host made sure that the audience was able to ask the speaker some questions after each segment. It's good that he encouraged the audience to interact, which made the program more interesting.

Last year's winner from Entrepreneur's Next Big Food Challenge Ping Gu Mushroom. Super inspiring ang story nila because they really gave their all for their business. They shared that they even sold their van when they first started out and they have had a lot of businesses to learn from. It is such a humble story, yet look where they are now. :)

Atty. Jill Gerodias-Borja also shared business tips from her experience with Manang's Chicken. I admire them because they have grown fast over the last few years. She has such big dreams for the brand! The way she runs the business is very professional. I like her for being such a gung-ho entrepreneur.

There was also a talk from AFFI on franchising your brand. Shown here are the brands they have worked with. It's definitely better to partner with big franchise organizations to help transition one's expansion in the future. I hope ma-afford namin services nila!
Other segments include presentations from other sponsors like Land Bank and Brother. The last part was the awarding of Solane's Next Big Entrepreneur Contest. Details to be shown in my next post.

Overall, Entrepreneur Philippines Networking Night had a lot of things in store for its participants. One thing I wished is that they could have started earlier. The event invite was 6pm but it actually started past 7pm. Good thing they had food for the guests naman. I'd definitely look forward to attending another one of these events in the future.

12.20.2013

Every family with young kids should watch Disney's Frozen. This movie really took me by surprise as I think it wasn't as heavily promoted as other movies like Despicable Me 2. I must say -- I love, love, LOVE the movie! It's one of those movies that gives the feel-good, warm, fuzzy, tingly feeling at the end of it. What I love most about Frozen is its beautiful soundtrack. I felt like I was watching a Broadway play. If you are one of those people who grew up in the 90's like me watching The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Lion King, you'd definitely appreciate this movie.

12.18.2013

Today marks the 3rd year anniversary of saying our vows to each other in front of family and friends in Shangri-la Mactan, Cebu. That day was very memorable to us, and we're happy to have shared it with our loved ones. I just want to dedicate this post to my dear husband, and here's my short (--and hopefully sweet) letter to him:

My dearest husband,

Happy, happy anniversary!

Thank you for being the number 1 person in my life. You are my best friend, confidant, partner, lover, cheerleader, travel buddy and everything else in between. You and I both know how far we've come from all the trials we've faced in the short three years that we've been together. It may not have been what we wished for in our first years together, yet we both know that what is most important is we came out of our trials stronger, happier and more and more in love with each other.

I look forward to sharing each day with you. Through good times and bad, I continuously pray that we will always find our love for each other in spite of the many challenges that may fall upon us. We both know that God is on our side in everything, and He is the one who will make our marriage perfect for us. Thank you for letting Him change you to be a better person. Thank you for never giving up on us.

Always remember that I will just be here by your side. Just as I promised three years ago, I will always be your number 1 cheerleader. I will forever support you to help you become the best man that you can be -- best husband, father, son, friend. I love you always and forever!

12.16.2013

SM City BF Paranaque is now open! I'm happy that there's finally a nearby SM that we can go to for our department store needs (they've got it all at SM!), but I'm not too excited about the heavy traffic it brings. SM has perfect timing. It opened just before the holidays to make way for your Christmas shopping!

What do they have to offer?

This is the central part of the mall where they have their 30-foot Christmas tree. You can see the SM Department Store on the left side and Cyberzone area in the middle, which extends to the other side of the mall leading to the cinemas. On the second level, Our Home is already open (not too clear from this pic). Breastfeeding mommies, take note they have an available breastfeeding room (see lower right portion of the pic).

Area leading to the cinemas. Fast food options greet you on the way there. Say hello to the usual Jollibee, KFC, McDonalds, Burger King and the like.

SM Department Store spans 3 floors. SM, by far, still has the best department store in the country.

The other side of Cyberzone. There's an Apple store on the right for all the Mac fans.

This area has some local restaurants present. Shown here is My Little Buttercup and Thousand Cranes. On the other side, they have Mary Grace. Local BF haunt Manna Cafe is also present.

One thing I'm most excited about is their Director's Club Cinemas! I thought they showed Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug here. However, nasobrahanata yung excitement ko to watch I mistakenly booked the 3D version instead. As for quick movie snack food, they don't have much. They just have 1 counter selling the usual movie food like popcorn, hotdog, and drinks. You might as well buy food from the fast food places nearby.

As for fashion options, this part of the mall is not fully open yet. They do have Uniqlo. I wish they would also open Forever 21 in the future. I think they have higher end brands opening soon.

One thing to note though when you go here, this SM has a long spiral loop leading to their parking. It's something I'm not really fond of as a driver. Also, if you come from BF you would have to drive far to take a Uturn to go back to BF area. Personally, I think this is a bit inconvenient because you have to drive out into the main highway when you can supposedly just go back to BF easily.

SM City BF Paranaque doesn't have a lot of space to work with (unlike SM Southmall), so options are limited. I hope more stores will open soon. Nevertheless, SM is a welcome sight here in the area since it provides us more shopping options.

A few days ago, Gisele Bundchen posted a pic of herself breastfeeding while working. Talk about being a glamorous mama!

I'm happy that celebrities like Gisele have actively promoted breastfeeding. It raises awareness for breastfeeding and encourages moms out there to choose to breastfeed. I agree with Gisele that babies should be breastfed for at least 6 months. It's the best thing that any mom can give to her child.

Breastfeeding definitely isn't an easy feat. It requires commitment and effort. It just doesn't come magically. The mom needs to work hard to establish her milk supply and adjust to the baby's nourishment needs. Without support, any mon can easily give up and turn to the ever ready and available formula milk.

If celebrities like Gisele take the proper time and effort to breastfeed, any mom can do that too. I've had friends who say "I just don't have breast milk" so easily to justify why they resorted to formula. I think the real reason here is that some moms don't have access to proper information and guidance to make breastfeeding work for them.

I hope more and more moms out there will choose to breastfeed. Not only will they be able to give the best, God-designed nourishment for their babies, they will be able to keep their babies happier and healthier. Breastfeeding gives way for the mom and child to bond, as well as allow the mom to give the right amount of antibodies to protect her baby from illnesses.

God designed breastfeeding for mother and child. Formula milk is simply man-made. Obviously, nothing can ever beat God's design. All the moms just need to do is to commit to God's plan.

12.12.2013

Since it's Throwback Thursday, I wanted to share some of our travels that I haven't written about yet. One of my favorites is our trip to Europe, wherein I fell in love with Rome. Rome is such a small and very beautiful city. It's hard (maybe impossible!) not to fall in love with it!

When we went to Europe for our honeymoon, Rome was the first city we visited. Even if we visited so many great cities after, Rome still remained our favorite.

We roamed the streets of Rome on foot and visited landmark after landmark in awe. Walking around the city makes you feel like you stepped into the pages of a history book. It's amazing how they kept ancient sites intact, and you can literally imagine yourself in those famous Rome scenes in movies when you visit them.

I won't go into sites to visit in Rome since you can easily search for it on Google. I'd like to share with you little things you can do to make your Rome experience memorable.

"Un caffé, per favore?" Drink coffee as the Romans do. It's so cute to see Romans standing over the bar and asking for their coffee from the bartender. They don't drink it in a big cup or a mug. They drink it espresso style. If you want to enjoy the regular cup of coffee, ask for Caffé Americano. Coffee is such a big thing for Romans that CNN even has an article on Rome's 15 best coffee bars.

Take lots and LOTS of pictures. Rome is such a beautiful city that everywhere you go, there's always a wonderful sight to capture.

Try to take a tour with the local city guides. It will help you appreciate the sites more. Not only will they tell you details about the sites that you're visiting as you walk with them, they will give you interesting tidbits to ponder on about Rome's history. Oh, and they help you skip the ticket lines too.

Sit down and take a break in one of their cafes along the streets of Rome. It's so nice to sit back and enjoy a glass of wine while we take in the beautiful sights and watch the people walk by us. Even if you just get a salami and mozzarella sandwich, their ingredients are just so fresh and so good that it tastes so heavenly in every bite.

Since you're already in Italy, grab the chance to try out the different flavors of pizza and gelato. I love Italian food, and I love it even more that there are so many flavors to try! Their gelato is just so good. I feel no other gelato in the world could compare. I can also say the same for their pizzas and pastas. Eating them in Rome is just different.

Even Anthony Bourdain can attest to this. He said, "If I'm in Rome for only 48 hours, I would consider it a sin against God to not eat cacio e pepe, the most uniquely Roman of pastas, in some crummy little joint where Romans eat. I'd much rather do that than go to the Vatican. That's Rome to me."

I hope you enjoyed my little post about Rome. Writing about it brings such great memories!